City Council Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz and Councilman Charles Djou had no opponents and only needed one vote to be automatically re-elected.

Wilcox, a Republican, had assistance from Hawaii Republican Party and Djou in trying to unseat Tam in the nonpartisan race.

Djou signed a letter that the Republican Party helped prepare and send to district GOP members asking for both votes and donations for Wilcox, a recording engineer and a car-racing enthusiast who got into politics as part of a group trying to keep a race track on Oahu.

Both Djou and Tam exchanged heated words after Djou's letter came out. Djou called Tam, a former state legislator, an embarrassment to government, while Tam said that Djou's motive for assisting Wilcox was out of revenge for Tam criticizing Djou for playing both sides in the most recent Council reorganization.